The Death Penalty Clinic is counsel or co-counsel for several individuals who are under a death sentence, and sometimes serves as counsel in additional litigation, such as litigation at the trial stage and as counsel for amici curiae in capital cases in state and federal courts. Students enrolled in the Death Penalty Clinic work under the supervision of Elisabeth Semel, Clinical Professor of Law and the Director; Ty Alper, Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Director; Bidish Sarma, Clinical Teaching Fellow; and with a paralegal and investigators who are members of the legal teams assigned to individual cases. Enrollment is limited to J.D. students who apply and are accepted for enrollment by the clinic's faculty. Students must enroll for a minimum of 4 units. With permission of the faculty, students may satisfy their writing requirement through clinic assignments.

Prerequisites:The Death Penalty Clinic is open to J.D. students, all of whom must concurrently enroll in the Death Penalty Clinic Seminar. Evidence and Criminal Procedure are prerequisites. In unusual circumstances, with permission of the faculty, these two course may be co-requisites for 2L students. Capital Punishment and the Constitution is strongly preferred as a prerequisite.